Woman reportedly bound with duct tape in Fort Wayne home invasion

Fort Wayne Police are investigating a burglary in which a man reportedly forced his way inside a southwest-side home Tuesday morning and bound a woman with duct tape.

Officers responded at about 6:12 a.m. to a home in the 1800 block of Hale Avenue, where the woman said she heard an intruder after her boyfriend had left about 30 minutes earlier, according to police reports.

The woman, who had spent the night at her boyfriend's house, told police she got out of bed and came face to face with a large man who had forced his way through the front door.

The man grabbed the woman in a bear hug, shoved her into a wall and bound her hands with duct tape before throwing her on the bed, she told police, according to the reports.

He reportedly asked several times where the woman's boyfriend kept his money and how he could get upstairs, which the boyfriend kept locked and used for storage.

The man also told the woman that a friend of hers, who she told police lives in Colorado, sent him. The woman explained to police that she once told the friend that her boyfriend made good money and kept cash in his home, the reports said.

The man, whom the woman described as about 6 feet tall and heavy set, also claimed he had a "police dog" on the front porch and at one point stepped outside for a moment, she said.

After the woman told the intruder several times that she didn't know where her boyfriend kept his money, the man reportedly left with her phone, the reports said.

The man was reportedly wearing gloves and several layers of jackets or hooded sweat shirts. His face was obscured by a mask or several hoods, the woman told police.